A Dream is A wish your Heart makes
by SpellboundWriter
Summary: COMPLETE! Ginny Weasley starts a new job and gets more than she bargained for when it is revealed that the Manor at Aberdeen belongs to a blonde headed berk from Slytherin...GWDM, with mentions of HPGW
1. Red tresses and Gray orbs

            Ginny Weasley busily folded her last piece of clothing and pushed it into her composition paper suitcase as the June sun beat down on her from her open window.  Her red hair was pulled back into a haphazard plait and small tendrils were falling into her coffee eyes, hazing her vision just slightly.  She sighed perceptibly as she fell against her rickety bed, collapsing in a heap of hand made bed linens and pillows.

            "Ginny, the train is leaving in twenty minutes."  Hermione Granger called from the doorway, smiling as sweetly as possible at the sighing girl.  Her own auburn hair was clipped against the back of her head and she was standing in the least revealing bathing suit she had to have owned.

            "Yes I know Hermione, thanks."

            "Are you ready to go yet?"  She asked warmly, moving to sit beside her.  Ginny moaned as she sat up, running a freckle smattered arm across her forehead.  Yes, she had thought a lot about her summer since she applied for the position.  Her job had been puzzling, nothing close to elaborate, and very unexplainable.  But she needed the money, and going away to do so would be the most beneficial thing at the moment.  She nodded solemnly as two more bodies appeared at her doorway, one the spitting image of her and the other, slightly shorter, was bespectacled.

            "Hullo Ron…Harry."

            "Hey Gin, you ready for your first day on the job?"  Harry questioned her timidly, barely stepping inside the sun filtered room.  Ron on the other hand had crossed the room flamboyantly and punched his sister lightly in the shoulder before rubbing her head absentmindedly with his palms.  She groaned at him as he released her and she stood.

            "I will be fine.  Tutoring can't honestly be that horrible."

            "Even though you don't know who it is."  Ron interjected.

            "Does that really matter?" Ginny shot back defensively, "I obviously have the marks for Dumbledore to even request me to tutor someone in Charms, so I am sure whoever it is won't be too much to handle."

            "You will do wonderfully Gin."  Hermione cooed, almost in a faux attempt to smooth over Ron's obviously blundered statement.  This only made Ginny cringe more, as the thought of her brother and Hermione dating only brought sickness to her stomach.  It wasn't as if she didn't like Hermione, quite the contrary she really admired the girl.  But their new relationship only kept Ginny at a farther distance from the group of friends that she had found herself trying to be accustomed with her entire life.

            Both Ron and Hermione stood awkwardly, grabbing each other's hands and sliding out of the room.  Probably to snog, Ginny thought to herself, as she watched the couple go.  She began to shuffle through the remaining of her belongings, making her bed, and straightening up before she realized that Harry still stood at her doorway, staring oddly at her through his spectacles.

            "Do you need something Harry?"  She asked cautiously, keeping her back to him as she moved about her room.

            "No, just wanted to properly say goodbye I suppose."  He muttered.  She turned then, suitcase in hand, and her eyes scanned him covetously.  He had always been perfect in her mind, even before she had met him.  It probably had started those late nights when she was little, when her mother would sit her down and tell her stories of the wizard that had saved them all.  Or it could have started when he had rescued her from the Basilisk second year, winning over her heart in his heroic triumph.  But she knew more than anything, now in the summer before her sixth year at Hogwarts Witchcraft and Wizardry, that he wasn't perfect.  Yes, his emerald eyes shown brightly regardless of the hour of the day and his hair was always in disarray, but he wasn't perfect for he had rejected her the year before.  She winced at the memory but smiled as undauntedly as she could muster.

            "Well then, goodbye Harry."  She spoke softly in an attempt to remove the sorrow from her voice.  It seemed as if he had heard it regardless because he was now standing only inches from her, prying the suitcase from her hands.

            "Don't forget me this summer."  He whispered, "I never meant to hurt you…and I don't want to lose you."  His hands were on her waist and he was only inches from her now, his hot breaths landing across the bridge of her nose and burning at the already developing tears in her eyes.

            "You already have Harry."  She sighed; pulling away from the one person she thought she had always loved, "I'll see you at the end of the summer."

~

            Ginny walked briskly up the cobblestone sidewalk, surveying her directions as she moved.  The light June breeze fluttered the parchment in her hands while it played with the hem of her skirt and the ends of her hair, causing her to stop every few seconds to fix this or that.  The train ride had been quite a bore and she hadn't realized how long it had taken; now only just realizing she was perfectly defined as 'late' and she had yet to find the house she was looking for.  Her client for the summer had insisted upon giving her hand written directions and making her take muggle transportation to find the house, which was almost impossible in the type of area she was in.  The houses were all almost identical, with hundreds of small windows and wonderfully sculpted yards.

            She stopped at the driveway in scripted with the lettering '419'.  She hurried up the long driveway to the front of the house, making her way along the brightly colored begonias and tulips in the gardens before her.  The door knocker itself was made of solid iron, coiled into the shape of a tongued serpent, and it took most of her 16 year old strength to lift it barely an inch.  Almost immediately the door opened to reveal a paling long haired girl in a forest green maid's uniform.  She moved aside and allowed Ginny to walk in, before shutting the door behind her.

            "Welcome…Ms. Weasley…I presume?"  The girl asked quietly, staring at her abnormally.

            "Yes..."  Ginny started, unsure of what to say, "This is…a…wizarding…"

            "Yes ma'am this is a wizarding household."  The maid interrupted, grabbing the suitcase from her hand and moving towards a long corridor to the left, "The Mistress wants to keep up the outlook in this neighborhood, so she sticks to strictly muggle handy workers.  If you would follow me, I'll show you to your room."

            Ginny kept a close distance to the maid, as the house was massive, and every corridor seemed to only have another leading off of it to another portion of the house.  Finally, in a corridor laced in green rugs and blacked walls, the maid stopped at a wooden door.

            "This is your room Ms. Weasley.  The dinner bell rings promptly at 6 every night, and you are expected in the main dining hall by 6:30.  A servant will be up to wake you in the morning.  Please be on time.  If you need anything, just find me, I reside two corridors to the left and then one to the right of you, fifth room."  The maid turned and walked away briskly, leaving Ginny alone.

~

            Ginny strode the halls breathlessly, turning down this one and then retreating and turning down another.  Most of the halls were the same, covered in plushy green carpeting and blackened walls.  A few had torches lining the walls here and there, but other than that she could make no distinguish of where she was going.  The dinner bell had run what seemed like hours ago and she had spent most of her time searching for the main dining hall.  She had found two washrooms, a ballroom, and even a drawing room in her haste, but her main destiny was yet to be found.

            After what seemed like another 10 minutes she came to a large reception area, covered with polished floors and ascending staircases.  She smiled at herself in the floor, the reflection of her red hair, coffee eyes, and timid lavender dress smiling back up at her.  She danced around in a circle for a moment, almost falling as a raspy voice interrupted her.  A man, adorned in a black tuxedo, was standing on the other side of the area, staring at her oddly.

            "Ms. Weasley, you are late for dinner as it is, I would suggest to follow me and to stop ogling over yourself in the floor that probably needs waxing now."  He sneered before shoving off.  She followed hastily.  After a few twists and turns they came upon a spacious room, only adorned with a long mahogany table, which was only accompanied by two individuals.  She briskly walked towards them.  Upon reaching their sides she curtseyed wholly and smiled.  The woman sitting at the head of the table had long white blonde hair pulled back in an elegant twist and eyes the color of sapphires.  She was smiling coolly, although her fingers were tapping against the table in an annoyed fashion.

            "I told you she wouldn't be prompt mother."  A voice she knew only too well came from her side, and she spun wildly.  A boy, possibly only a year older than her, sat sniggering with his eyes transfixed on hers, silver gray eyes that seemed to cut into her skin and peel at her every nerve.  His hair was tossed to one side in its usual fashion, almost a clearer blonde than that of his mothers.  His nose was upturned to her and his lips were pulled back in his almost name-worthy smirk.

            "Welcome to Malfoy Manor Ms. Weasley.  I would like to introduce you to my son, Draco Malfoy."  The woman spoke, cutting the air like butter.  Ginny faked a smile as she withdrew the mahogany chair and sat herself swiftly, "I presume you already have discovered your room…and found it to be in great fashion."

            "Yes Ms. Malfoy but you see…"

            "Now Ms. Weasley, I must have you understand."  The woman started simply, her eyes barely glancing up to meet Ginny's own, "You are not considered to be an 'equal' by any state in this house hold.  You will dress the same as the other maids and butlers of this house; you will act cordially and speak only when addressed to.  Your time here will be to my discretion and my discretion only.  To you, I am 'Mistress Malfoy" and that title only.  Do I make myself clear Ms. Weasley, or must I repeat myself?  I remember far too well how…inattentive Weasley's can be."  She spoke smoothly and enunciated her speech perfectly, making Ginny only dislike her more.  If it were possible, she imagined smoke would be fuming from her ears, it was common knowledge that she was not the member of the family to hold their temper wisely, especially when it came down to slandering the people she cared for.

            "Yes ma'am."  She forced through gritted teeth. The blonde woman smiled, as much as she probably could, and then clapped her hands together.  The maid that Ginny had seen at the door entered promptly, carrying several large silver platters, piled high with the most exquisite food Ginny had ever seen.  She stared at large piles of sliced beef shank as her mouth began to water, her fingers twirling in the fabric of her dress, begging to be able to just grab a piece of the warm tender meat.  Another maid, a stout bulky woman with choppy blonde hair was pouring goblets of pumpkin juice for each person around the table, humming silently to herself as she brushed past Ginny and moved back towards the kitchen.  The chewing of food caused Ginny to look directly into Draco's eyes, as he was currently stuffing a piece of potato into his impeccably bright mouth.

            "Are you going to stare at the food already in my mouth all evening or are you going to eat your own?" He hissed, running his tongue across his mouth.

            "I wouldn't want to eat a thing you ever touched Draco." She whispered, barely audible, but apparently he had heard as his cheeks were now turning a visible purple color, as they usually did when he got angry.  She smiled to herself.

            "Mother, how long must Ms. Weasley accompany us at meals?"  Draco asked heatedly, although it seemed he was trying his best to keep his composure, which only caused Ginny to chuckle lightly.

            "She hasn't touched a thing yet my dear, let her eat."  The woman spoke harshly, turning her attention back to her own plate and ignoring the hushed commentaries coming from Draco's side of the table.  Meanwhile, Ginny had busied herself with the food, which was remarkably delicious, and far more appetizing than anything she would receive at home.  Her mother was a decent cook, and she rarely ever complained, but having large portions (regardless of the number of people in the house) was a commodity.

            "Draco dear, I believe it is time for Ms. Weasley and I to have some financial discussions."  The woman spoke briefly.

            "But mother…"

            "Go Draco."  She spoke pointedly and he stood up, bowed to her, and turned heatedly from the room, "You must forgive him my dear, he is quite a sweet boy but alas he isn't quite taken with the idea of having a tutor.  Mr. Malfoy doesn't even know I hired one for him."  Ginny shivered uncontrollably at the mention of Lucius Malfoy, the man who had led her to being taken over by the most powerful dark wizard in the world, "Is something wrong?"

            "No nothing at all ma'am," Ginny lied, "but if I may ask, why did you hire me?"

            "Well you see Draco was doing terribly in charms class as it was.  Back when the Malfoy name actually stood ground in the wizarding world, Flitwick would have had a lot more problems in failing my boy.  But after the war and all…you see…it is impeccable that Draco get good marks.  He can't become an…well he just can't take up the profession he wants if he doesn't have good charms marks.  Flitwick originally suggested that muggle-born girl, who was it, something Granger.  Yes that was it, that Granger girl, but Draco refused to have her anywhere near him.  So Flitwick suggested you as well, and I didn't even bother asking Draco about it."  The woman smiled again, "He will adjust to you Ms. Weasley.  He honestly is a good natured boy, but he just takes time.  He takes after his father too much, I suppose.  Now, on to other news…about your uniform…"

~

            Ginny finally made her way back to her room around 9, her eyelids falling heavily upon her coffee eyes.  The room was slightly cold, but she didn't mind, as the dress she was wearing was confining her body to barely any air.  She pulled out of the restricting dress and grabbed a periwinkle nightdress, letting the material slip over her overheated skin.  She pulled back the white bedclothes, tossing most aside, and left behind only one small sheet, which she pulled around her body as she sprawled her hair across the pillow.  From her bed she could see the armoire with her new wardrobe in it, the same uniform of the maids she had seen earlier.  Mistress Malfoy had said it had been for "conformity", although Ginny was sure Draco had suggested it just to have a nice laugh over.  Summer had barely started, and she was already finding herself regretting applying before sleep even came over her.

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AN: So that's the first chapter! I plan to make this a very big Ginny/Draco story, with hints of her old feelings for Harry. Of course, there is the underlying issue of Ron/Hermione, but that honestly won't be mentioned as much.

            The plot surrounds the idea that Ginny goes to tutor Draco, and learns that if one digs deep enough, there is more to him then what seems logical. Many things attempt to come between the two lovers; including Harry, Lucius Malfoy, and Ron.  Please continue reading! It is my first attempt at a Ginny/Draco story, and hopefully it won't be bad.  It will be rated PG-13 for now, just for language and brief descriptions, but could change depending on how I want this to go. SO thanks for reading!

            Another point, due to my hectic sophomore scheduling and the upcoming new semester, my life will be pretty hectic for the next few weeks. Also with Indoor Competitive Color guard and Dance, I will have very few moments to update. So my plans are to get a few good chapters under my belt and update them at once. So you won't have as many updates, but you will have just a few with more than one chapter. Hope that doesn't confuse anyone, but it is just what has to be done!

Disclaimer: This story and its themes, characters, and such are all J.K.R.


	2. Inkbottles and Miniatures

            Ginny opened her eyes groggily to the sound of movement in her room, causing the original state of sleepiness to edge away quickly, overcoming her with panic.  Her hand outstretched to the nightstand and she grabbed her wand rapidly, not as if it would do any good, she knew she couldn't do magic out of school especially since she was still in her 6th year.  But she tightened her grip around the piece of wood anyway, daring her eyes to inspect the room for her intruder.

            A young girl, maybe only 19, was standing near the armoire, her back to Ginny, and was shifting through the layers of green fabric hanging within.  She was a rather frail woman, since Ginny could see most of the armoire around her, not the typical body persona of one who would be breaking in.  Ginny sat up and stared at her more perceptively, taking in the girl's mop of curly black hair and ghost white skin.  When she finally turned around, Ginny was met with a pair of emerald eyes before a small gasp emitted the girl's ruby red lips, making Ginny jump.

            "Quite sorry Missus, but I hadn't known you had woke up yet."  The girl spoke with a heavy southern accent, one Ginny was sure she had never heard before, and she was now fanning herself lightly with her left hand, "Are you gunna sit around all day Missus?  I dun think that the Mistress wants a late nanny, no sir."

            "I'm not a nanny."  Ginny spoke.

            "Of course not Missus, I didn't mean that.  Clumsy of me I reckon."  The girl spoke again, pressing a folded dress into Ginny's lap, patting the fabric lightly, "Now you best go dress, breakfast isn't a necessary occasion but it would be best if you showed up."  She hustled towards the door.

            "Wait, who are you?"  Ginny asked.

            "Missus, not to insult you or nuffin, but us maids aren't supposed to be on namely basis with anyones."  Ginny stood awkwardly, still adorned in her periwinkle nightdress, and walked towards her, extending her right hand to the girl.  She must have looked a right mess, standing in her nightclothes without slippers on or her hair brushed, a wand in one hand, but it didn't seem to matter.

            "I'm Ginny."

            The girl stared at her for a few minutes, as if she were trying to digest her hand into some sort of meaning, before grabbing it with her own and shaking it roughly, "I'm Maryanne Missus.  Now I must be goin…I will see you later today."  She was out of the door before Ginny could say another word, so she turned back towards her unmade bed and the green silk lying on top of it.

~

            Ginny moved quickly through the halls of Malfoy Manor, her dress moving swiftly around her ankles in almost silent snaps with her pace.  She was late again, not exactly what she had hoped for on the first day of her job, but none-the-less she had determined the quickest route to the drawing room, having found it the day before, where she would give Draco his first lesson.

            Pushing the door back, she took in the white walls of the room.  The normal easels and painting supplies had been pushed back into one corner, the center of the room now exposed to just a single blackboard, a set of tinker toys, and two chairs.  A small heap of parchment paper and a few ink bottles and quills sat in a box near the chalkboard.  It was the first room that Ginny noticed to have a window, casting a bright golden yellow glow onto her teaching supplies.

            "You ready to start this yet Weasel?  I really don't have all day, and moreover I really don't want to spend even the slightest amount of time with you."  A voice called behind her, making ripples run up the back of her spine and her temper to grow.  Draco moved around her and stepped towards one of the chairs, sinking into it haughtily and smirking at her.

            "The name is Ms. Weasley to you Malfoy." She spat, taking the chair across from him.

            "Not a chance Weasel."

            "How am I supposed to teach you if you won't even treat me like a true teacher?" She spat again, picking up a quill, a piece of parchment, and a bottle of ink.

            "Beats me, I don't know why you applied for this goddamned position anyway."

            "I didn't know I would be teaching a bloody prat like you."  She scolded, roughly pushing the supplies into his hands, "But since I have to, we might as well just go to work.  Write down what exactly you are having trouble with, I don't want to waste my time either."  He scowled at her, just slightly, before opening the bottle of ink and writing.  After just a second he shoved the parchment back to her.

            _Everything, and of course that you are in my house.  She wanted to scream, but didn't, as he began to laugh wickedly, an action not even to be called a laugh since it seemed to hold no humorous emotion.  He hadn't seen her pull her wand from her pocket, or point it at the bottle of ink, or say the soft incantation that made the ink bottle float easily through the air, moving swiftly above Draco's head._

            "Malfoy?" She called and he looked towards her, at the wand that was now pointing at him.  She flicked the tip just lightly and the entire bottle came crashing down on top of him, ebony ink spilling over his white blonde hair and settling against his skin.

            "Argh!  What the bloody hell do you think you are doing Weasel!" he shouted, jumping up in an attempt to brush the ink off him, only causing it to settle into his robes, which were once a dazzling midnight blue color.

            "That is where we can start…cleaning charms."  She spoke, "Of course, if you don't want to actually learn, then you could walk around like that all day.  Believe me; it won't come off with just water and soap."  She chuckled.  Two could play his games.

            "FINE."  He screamed, sitting himself again.  Ginny stood and moved towards the blackboard, scribbling the words 'Scourgify' in perfect loopy letters.  Next to it, she drew the shape of an upside down cursive L, drawing arrows along its points.  Draco was quiet, his hands clenched together since he couldn't exactly do very much else with them.

            "Right.  This is the cleaning charm, its pretty simple actually, you just say it as you do the movement I exampled on the board."  Ginny stated, "You finish it off by pointing at the object that you want to clean, for example, your lovely hair Malfoy."  She giggled just slightly.  He only just reacted to her, his cheeks turning purplish again, as he pointed his wand at himself and moved it as she had spoken, before muttering the words under his breath.  His hair moved just slightly, became a sickening gray color, and then laid flat against his head again.  His robes were now the color of his hair, with slight chunks of remaining midnight blue.

            "Try harder Malfoy."  She coaxed.

             "You should teach better." He scowled.

            "It isn't my problem that you never paid an ounce of attention in your 6 years at Hogwarts." She tongued the words lightly, making them seem as if she didn't care.

            "It also isn't my fault that you are so poor you need to tutor students for a simple knut." He scowled again.  In a second she was at his side, her wand pointed at his hair.

            "Don't talk about things you know nothing about." She hissed, "Or that morbid colored hair of yours won't be your only worry." She turned defiantly and began to whisper things about the cleaning charm, hoping he was paying attention, but keenly unaware of his eyes that were lingering on her.  He was staring at her, at her bright red hair with shades of auburn reflecting from the sun.  Her eyes, the color of the coffee his mother drank daily, were rummaging through things and yet refusing to meet his eye.  There was something about her, he thought, something she kept from most people.  She didn't falter at his crudeness, but instead lashed out at him equally as cruel, a temper he rarely had seen at Hogwarts.  In fact, she had been quite the shrew at Hogwarts.  What had changed?

            "You have quite a temper Weasel." He whispered, in an almost inaudible tone.  She looked up at him, her eyes dancing about him in an attempt to understand what exactly he expected from her after that commentary.

            "I suppose you could say that." She whispered back, "Can we please just finish this lesson?"

~

            Ginny trudged through the tall blades of grass, the blades were nipping at her ankles as she brushed along, entangling herself in a sea of tulips, lilies, and daffodils.  She fell backwards onto her back, taking in the syrupy scent of the flowers surrounding her.  The ground was cool for a June afternoon, and from her view she could just make out the jumbled shapes of cotton ball clouds in the effervescent blue sky.  The courtyard she had resided herself too was larger than any she had ever seen.  In the center sat a small crystalline lake, whose water rippled just slightly despite the lack of any wind.  A tree sat just inches from her, a long wooden swing hanging from one of its many branches.

            "You are going to ruin that dress if you lay like that Weasel." An edgy and raspy voice called from behind her.  She refused to look back, to look and see who was calling to her, and instead settled on staring at the sky.  She could feel his presence drawing nearer, his footsteps moving closer to her left side.  He was standing above her now, his finally clean blonde hair blocking every view of the sky and casting an annoying sun kissed glare into her eyes.

            "Care to move?" She voiced.

            "No." Was all he said, as he extended a hand. She looked up at him, quite puzzled, "I had to pay for part of that uniform you are wearing and it's bad enough that a Weasel is contaminating it."

            "I am not a dirty person Malfoy." She spat angrily.

            "You are a Weasley though." He whispered. It would appear he had grown tired of standing over her, for he now took a seat in the grass next to her, plucking a pale ginger tulip and bringing it to his nose, "Mmm, the sweet smell of tulips.  Not even you can ruin this sort of day Weasel."

            "How touching, the dragon actually has a heart."  She pursed her lips, staring at him intently.

            "Malfoy's don't have hearts." He said indifferently, tossing the tulip aside.

            "Why did you come out here Malfoy?  I was perfectly fine sitting alone."

            "I have nothing else to do."  He stated glumly.  She stifled a laugh to the best of her ability, the color in her cheeks noticeably rising, "What Weasel?"

            "I have never heard of a Malfoy who would rather spend time talking to a Weasley then finding SOMETHING to do." She spoke in short breaths to keep from laughing out loud.

            "Yes well…" He started but stopped at the realization of having nothing to say.  He twirled his fingers in the grass, plucking a few pieces and tossing them different ways.  His mind seemed to be searching for something and Ginny couldn't help but think that he looked…cute?  She couldn't say that, he was a Malfoy after all and the only person besides his father that she had grown to despise in her entire life, "Did you hear me Weasel?"  He had obviously said something as she had been thinking, and she shook her head in response, "Figures, mother was right when she said you were all inattentive." He sneered.

            "Must you always berate my family Malfoy?" She spoke, thoroughly annoyed with him.

            "I think…" he stopped, as if contemplating something, before his mouth broke into a rather large, dumpy grin, "yes I think I do have to."

            "Well okay, as long as it is justified." She spoke indignantly, brushing a lone hair out of her face.

            "What…no retort?" He asked, thoroughly perplexed.

            "No…you aren't worth it."  She stated simply, "You will always berate my family, no matter who we truly are.  I will always have no respect for your lousy miniature self, so why bother with protesting?"

            "Miniature?" He asked, unsure of her meaning.

            "Yes miniature."  She huffed, her face turning a light rosy color in the heat that was slowly accumulating, "At least I am my own person Malfoy, not a carbon copy of the most despicable man I have ever had the displeasure of meeting."  She spoke heatedly, before standing and smoothing out her dress, "Goodbye Lucius." Her voice was flat, without very much context at all, but the meaning behind her heart piercing words was quite evident.  She took off towards the door to the courtyard, her red hair swinging against the nape of her neck.  

            She hadn't seen it, her back to him, but his knuckles, gripping the blades of grass near him, were now sheet white.  His gray eyes had lost their shimmer, and his mouth was pinned in a straight line.

            "I am…" he started, breathily and stony,

            "Nothing…"

            "like…"

            "that…"

            "Bastard…"

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AN: This chapter's purpose is just to show everyone the relationship as it stands between Ginny and Draco. It also starts her tutoring lessons. Another purpose is to show that Draco really isn't all everyone assumes him to be.

Maryanne is my own character, I feel special, this is the first character I've made up on my own so far!

Read on!


	3. Books and Toffees

            Ginny looked up from her notebook to find Draco staring at her oddly, his gray eyes squinted and his mouth drawn into a straight line.  He hadn't spoken to her in days, it wasn't as if Ginny missed the impeccably brash sound of his voice, but she couldn't stand his obedience.  Following her instructions dutifully, listening to her speak, even not calling her "Weasel" was beginning to aggravate her.  His body seemed to have lost its bravado as he graciously handed her two rolls of parchment dealing with Locking charms.

            "Draco…" she started, setting the unread rolls aside.  He stared at her and the parchment, his eyes darting back and forth unrelentlessly, "I'm sorry if what I said offended you."

            "Did you mean it?" He asked, his voice choppy and unrecognizable, "If you meant it, don't apologize."  He closed his lips again into the straight line that only seemed to irk Ginny, so she continued to press on.

            "You know, this argument is simple ridiculous.  We should stop arguing and just be friends, for the sake of your marks and my summer"

            His lips quivered, "Malfoy's don't have friends, especially not those who associate with the likes of Potter."

            "Civil then?"

            "You already judged me."  He spoke, barely audible, "You think I'm just like Lucius."

            "Prove me wrong." She sputtered, unsure of where her courage to contradict an already angered Draco Malfoy was coming from.  He had the same reaction, for his eyes were now burning into her like hot coals.  She smiled as best she could, his eyes flashing again before returning to their nostalgic state.

            "Fine W-W-Ginny, but lets get back to work."

~

            "Maryanne!"  Ginny called down the long corridor, skipping along barefooted with her heeled shoes in her hands.  Her green uniform, which normally coiled around her ankles, now hung loosely near her knees and bunched at her waist.  Her normally pin straight hair laid in rumpled tresses, flying every which way about her head.  She was screaming as she skipped, her feather-light voice echoing back to her off the murky walls.

            Ginny never saw the door open to her left, or the mop of black curls and snow white skin come into the hallway, and as physics would have it, Ginny couldn't stop her motion.  With a smack she hit the girl full force and both toppled to the floor in an array of arms and legs.  Ginny was giggling from the floor, her dress now lying in disarray around her knees and her hair sprawled out underneath her.  She had lost her heels in the fall for they had connected with something solid in Maryanne's hand, whom was now lying beside Ginny with her hands on her stomach, howling in laughter.  Both girls looked a right mess as Ginny sat up and brushed off her knees as best as she could.  Maryanne's hair was more frazzled than usual and her normally ghostly pale cheeks were tinted in crimson, tears of laughter spreading down her face in snail like trails.  Ginny gave her a hand to lift the two of them up and they brushed off some more.  Maryanne's lips curled into a frown as Ginny picked up her discarded heels along with a small, palm sized book.  The cover was a lightly tinted brown color, the faded words _Easy Reader_ barely visible from years of probable use.

            "Maryanne, what's this?"  Ginny asked tentatively, showing the girl the book.  Her eyes, once filled with happy emotion, now drew back into her head as if trying to hide herself from Ginny's questions. As Ginny opened her mouth to speak, another voice came from inside the neglected doorway, "I'll see you next week Maryanne, same time."

            Ginny tried to yell at the person to stop, but it was too late, they were already out of the room and moving into her, sending her sprawling onto her back.  She hit the floor with a thud and winced in pain as the speaker's knee landed on her upper thigh.  The pitter patter of feet signaled to her that Maryanne had run away, and Ginny was left alone in the corridor with the person who had knocked her down.  Opening her eyes, she glanced up at similar orbs of gray.

            Maybe she had never cared to notice before, but these gray eyes had flecks of blue in them, making them deeper and more mysterious then ever before.  The man's cheeks were tinted just slightly and he was breathing heavily, his warm breath falling just across the bridge of her freckle smattered nose.  His hair, which she normally saw gelled back in perfection laid haphazardly across his brows, which were furrowed deep into his eyelids.  His fingers were on her waist, holding her still, and while one of his legs lay atop hers, the other was sprawled between her.  Her eyes lingered on his lips for just a moment, which were thin and barren, a light almost salmon color that made her want to…did she really want to kiss them?  She shook her head violently, sending them both out of the reverie of the moment.  The man stood and picked her up, placing her flat on her feet again.

            "I shouldn't have knocked you down Ginny."  Draco whispered, running a hand through his pearly blonde hair.

            "It was an accident, as much my fault as yours." She replied, smoothing out her dress and letting the bunch fall so it regained its composure near her ankles, "But may I ask what you were doing with Maryanne?"

            "No."  He turned abruptly and walked as best he could down the hall.  Ginny stared at him leaving, at the curve of his back and of his…oh for gods sakes she was staring at his bum!

            "I really am losing it here." She whispered to herself, walking briskly back down the hall towards her bedroom, "Honestly, staring at Malfoy like he's anything less then what he was year's ago." She chided herself, trying her best to shake him from her mind, "I was only caught up in the moment, who wouldn't be if a man landed on you out of no where?" She spoke aloud again to no one in particular, finally finding her door and pushing it open.  Her bed had been made, fresh linens were lying out, and a note was taped to her dressing mirror.

            _Ms. Weasley,_

_            Draco needs to go into Diagon Alley for his school supplies today.  As his tutor, I have decided that you shall accompany him.  Pick up your school supplies as well, that way I do not have to give you off to do so later in the summer._

_                        Mistress Malfoy_

            Ginny scowled noticeably.  It wasn't that she minded being asked to do such chores, but she didn't want to see Draco at the moment.  Not while things were as confusing as they were.  Sighing, she moved towards the bed where a new dress was lying, a beautiful piece of silken blue material and a large white satin sash.  She smiled as she slipped into it, a greater smile playing across her lips as the chilling fabric created goose bumps on her arms. She grabbed a money bag off her counter, frowning from its light weight, but none-the-less she placed it in her pocket for safe keeping.  No sooner had she done so was there a knock at her door.

            "Let's go Ginny I want to get this over with soon!" Draco's voice boomed from the other side.

~

            Diagon Alley was surprisingly empty for the end of June, only a few young witches and wizards moving throughout the narrow streets.  The Quidditch store must have received new broomsticks, for the few children that could be found on the street's were huddled around the window, shouting things like "It's brand new!"  and "Best model yet my pop said!".  Ginny wished to go and look at the broomstick too, but she stopped herself, knowing full well that she could never pay for something so grand.  Playing Chaser on the Gryffindor house team was starting to become difficult with only a very old Cleansweep, but without money it was the best she could do.  She didn't get her paycheck for another week and maybe then, if she was lucky, she could buy something even close to that grand.

            "What are you staring at Ginny?" Draco asked casually.

            "Nothing, lets get going.  Where do we have to go?"  She asked abruptly, turning her gaze from the front of the Quidditch shop.

            "Flourish and Blotts first.  Then I think the robes shop.  Mom hinted that there's going to be another Yule Ball, and I need new dress robes."   She followed in his shadow lamely, staring at all the different things along the way.  The Three Broomsticks was almost empty, a small man standing outside with a butterbeer seemed to be the only customer.  Gringotts, the barely standing Goblin-run wizarding bank, also seemed to be empty, as the doors were shut.  Draco seemed to go unaffected by the lack of people, for he was walking faster and faster by the second, reaching Flourish and Blotts in no time.

            The store was musty and almost empty, a few students Ginny recognized were moving around the store.  She took a left and headed down an isle on Charms books, looking for a new one she had yet to purchase.  While her money bag was light, she knew she had enough money for a new book, and she wanted it badly.  Eying the cover, which was painted with flying feathers and self-washing plates, she smiled boldly and moved towards the counter.  Standing in front of her was Colin Creevy, a school mate of hers, with light brown mousy hair and a portable camera.  He smiled at her and waved, immediately starting her into a conversation.

            Draco Malfoy watched her from across the store as he fingered a new Potions book.  He always admired her laugh, it was big and boisterous with just the right amount of lift.  She was bolder and wittier then he had ever imagined, he had learned that when she had first came to tutor him, and her spark made him wonder why she was put in Gryffindor instead of Slytherin.  While he knew she was brave, she also could be quite puny when it came to certain things, like her family's economical stance.

            He liked the fact that they were being civil instead of always arguing, for she was a very intelligent girl and someone he could actually talk to, not like his daft comrades Crabbe and Goyle.  Yes, she had upset him extremely with the comment about Lucius, but he had put that behind him.  He shivered visibly as he thought of Lucius, away somewhere in Northern Ireland for what he called a "business meeting", something Draco recognized as nothing more than a Death Eater convention.  He hated him for being a Death Eater, contrary to probable belief.  His mother always suffered the brunt of Lucius' foul moods, and Draco detested the ways he treated the family he supposedly "loved."  That was why Draco had been planning to go into his career field of choice.  Why Ginny was with him in the first place…

            His thoughts immediately fled from Lucius and instead lingered on the girl that was now paying the cashier, a small book in her hands.  Her hair was beautiful, just the right length and a wonderful mass of curly locks.  He had always thought it contrasted nicely with her slightly pale and freckled skin, which was amazingly smooth the few times he had touched it.  Being civil to her was making him notice more and more things about her, things that only could be considered dangerous for a Malfoy beyond all context and things that should be cleared from his mind.  But he just couldn't forget them.  He couldn't forget her smile, the few times he had seen it, or the hurt in her eyes when he insulted her.  Why she ever had emotion with his words, he wasn't sure, but it was something unusual to see a girl as strong as her break down over one thing.  Moreover, he kept thinking of her body, and the way it felt under his.

            He couldn't lie to himself about what had happened earlier in the corridor.  Falling on her, he had seen just the slightest flash of the skin of her hip, almost smiling up at him from beneath her dress that shouldn't have been up that high.  For the first time ever he had looked directly into her eyes, eyes the color of coffee with hints of caramel, for they shown in small golden flecks.  Her lips were larger than anything he had ever seen, and as his fingers moved against her waist he had wanted to kiss her.

            "Ready to go Draco?"  She asked as she reached his side, grabbing at his arm to leave. He sighed and followed her, watching her move in front of him.  Why was he paying any attention to her?  It wasn't usual for Malfoy's to care about anyone at all, let alone Weasley's.  They weren't considered equals by a long shot, and he had grown up knowing that it was wrong to give Weasley's the time of day.  But the more he knew Ginny, Ginny the girl and not the youngest Weasley, he started to realize that she was more than just a poor red head.

            They reached a corner store and he stopped abruptly at a sign that read "Weasley Wizarding Wheezes."

            "What the bloody hell is this?" He snapped.

            "It's my brothers' store.  I want to stop in and talk.  You can stay out here if you want." She snapped back, stepping through the arched doorway.  He only watched her, and after a moment of consideration (the June wind was quite nippy this afternoon) he decided to follow her.  The store shocked him in every way.  Walls were covered in sweets and gadgets, things he never would have considered Fred and George Weasley capable of making.  He stopped at a cart that read "Ton Tongue Toffee" and stared at it for a moment, before a girl with skin the color of coffee and cream and hair that was crazily beaded came up to him.

            "Want a free sample?" She asked him, and he recognized her as Angelina Johnson, the old Chaser from the Gryffindor team.  He smiled and took a piece of the multicolored candy, licking his lips as its savory blueberry taste burned the back of his throat.  It tasted so good, like a million taste buds were lapping at it.  He smirked at Angelina.

            "itsgood." He choked, unsure as to why his words were coming out so slurred. She only laughed at him as she moved away.  He could feel his tongue catching against his teeth and as he opened his mouth it began to roll out, getting progressively longer, almost skimming the floor as he attempted to scream.  A Malfoy being embarrassed wasn't something he was used to, and in moment's he was lying sprawled on the floor, completely unconscious from shock.

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Hope you like, as you can see Draco and Ginny are starting to see each other in a new light. This won't be an extremely long fiction since I'm also working on _Rings, _but I promise it will be worth it.

READ ON and oh yeah, REVIEW


	4. Changlings and Remedies

AN: Hey! Next chapter! This is going to have a flashback as well as a point-view-change.  Don't get confused!

Thanks for the reviews!

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            Ginny sighed loudly as she burst into her room, the floating body of Draco Malfoy not far behind her.  She let him fall to her bed, landing with a soft plop, as she threw herself into the nearby armchair.

***

            Ginny watched as Draco fell to the floor, his tongue flopping around on the ground, causing a gigantic mess and causing most of Fred and George's customers to drop their goodies and hurry out of the store.  She turned on them, their faces upturned.

            "What did you do to him?" She screamed.

            "He ate a Ton Tongue Toffee." Angelina piped up, "I gave him a free sample."  Ginny grimaced and turned away, knowing full well that a person with half knowledge of the twins would never have eaten anything made by them, no matter how luxurious looking.  When she had been a toddler they had baked her a cake that turned her purple for two weeks.  It wasn't easy being related to them.

            "Are you sure?  I've never seen anyone _pass_ out from a Ton Tongue."  Ginny stated blandly, looking over at Draco's form.  Fred and George were giggling from behind her and she shot them a look, her signature look that told anyone who received it to fess up immediately.

            "Ginny, we only changed the sample a tiny bit."  George started.

            "Yeah, Angie wouldn't have known." Fred interjected.

            "It shouldn't have caused that to happen…"

            "But we wouldn't have known, we haven't tested it yet." Fred finished.

            "We thought Malfoy would make a good subject.  Why are you worried anyway?"  They finished together, eying her.

            "It…It bloody doesn't matter, will you just tell me what you did?"

***

            Ginny had spent the next twenty minutes levitating Draco's body home.  She had been thinking so much about her anger for Fred and George that she kept dropping him along the way, which only made her have to stop more frequently to clean up his scrapes.

            Now, alone in her room with him, Ginny hadn't a clue what to do.  A Ton Tongue Toffee mixed with a Feverish Skiving Snackboxe could be dangerous, even for someone who knew the remedies, and she was positive an enlarged tongue was the least of her problems.  He hadn't woken at all, as if in a peaceful slumber, and her ideas were running out.  Maryanne bustled into her room, feather duster in hand.  She gasped loudly when she saw Draco's body on Ginny's bed.

            "Missus!  I dun believe you, having young Draco up in your bed like that!  Shame on you."  She shook her finger at Ginny lamely, causing the girl to laugh.

            "Quite the contrary Maryanne, but Draco is ill and I wasn't about to lose my paycheck for that."  Maryanne smiled slyly at her as she moved towards Draco's bed, running a long hand across his forehead.

            "By golly Missus he's burnin up!  I'll go fetch something from the cupboard, you get his clothings off so he isn't sweatin up a bigger storm!"  She moved quickly out of the room and Ginny had to laugh, until she remembered what Maryanne had said.  She had told Ginny to undress Draco.  She blanched as she looked at him, moving closer to his side.

            She ran a long finger up his arm, marveled by its softness and warmth, moving towards his shoulder, and back down his stomach to the edge of his shirt.  She started to move it up and over his chest, attempting not to stare, as his small abs became visible and the shirt was lifted over his head.  His arms fell back to his side, muscular from Quidditch years but still boyish, in a doll-like position.  Ginny ran her hand across his bare upper arm.  Something was missing…

            Before she could come to terms with anything, Maryanne had re-entered, a wet cloth in hand.  She smiled at Ginny drolly and handed it to her, letting Ginny mop up the perspiration beads on Draco's forehead.  He was parched, his lips slightly cracked, but at least his tongue was beginning to shrink again.

            "And you say you don't like him Missus."  Maryanne whispered, sitting in a chair.  Ginny spun to her, still sitting on the edge of the bed, staring at her peculiarly.

            "I don't fancy him if that is what you are hinting at Maryanne."  Ginny said sternly, "He is just a client."

            "Sure."

            "Why don't you fancy him?  You can't tell me that I imagined seeing you two walking out of the same room today."  Ginny retorted, causing Maryanne to gulp.

            "Missus…"

            "Tell me about it."  Ginny pressed.

            "Missus…Draco could get in a lot of trouble for…for being with me."  Maryanne gulped again, her eyes finding something interesting in her tiny loafers that were swinging against the floor.

            "So you were with him!"  Ginny squealed with delight, totally unaware of Draco's stirrings.

            "No Missus I wasn't, you see, Draco is teaching me to r-r-read."  Maryanne gulped.

            "Is he really?"  Draco heard Ginny mumble from beside him.  Great, Maryanne had told her, it was only hours until his mother knew and fired her.  Servants, especially servants in the Malfoy household, were not allowed to know how to read and write.  The conversation between the two girls had escaped him as he thought slightly about Maryanne.  She was a very boring girl, nothing like Ginny, but she still deserved an education.  Draco had offered to help her at a cost, she of course was an orphan like all his mother's maids, but she could help him with getting into town.  The ghastly pale girl would take him into Diagon Alley once a month to restock supplies and in return he taught her how to read and what not.

            "That is so…oddly sweet of him." He heard Ginny say again.  Somewhere, he wasn't sure where, he was hoping she was talking about him.  What _had_ that toffee done to him?

            "Missus, if I may ask, who do you fancy?"

            "No one.  I used to, but it…it…disappeared."  Ginny sighed.  Draco felt sorry for the girl, sorry that she had chased after a nutter like Potter when there were far better in the world.

            "How so Missus?"

            "He wasn't the type of guy I thought he was." Ginny sighed again, louder than before.

            "But what about Draco Missus?"  Maryanne asked and Draco felt his throat become tight.  He immediately blamed it on his enlarged tongue but with a little movement he realized his tongue was practically normal sized, not nearly big enough to catch his throat so vividly and make his stomach grumble so crazily.

            "He is…an acquaintance." She grumbled, and Draco felt his grumbling stomach drop a few feet into the mattress.

            "Just an acquaintance?"  He heard Maryanne ask, and he could have guessed that Ginny's face would have read what she was thinking.  Of course, he couldn't just open his eyes and look, but he needed to know.

            "Look Maryanne, anything I might…think…I feel for Draco I can't.  Let's just leave it at that."  He heard someone leave the room in a fury and he sighed as quietly as he could.  He wasn't sure what was going on anymore.  He knew he wasn't in his room, he was in Ginny's, and she had helped him get better.  He wasn't sure why he cared at all whether or not the Weasley fancied him, on any normal day she wouldn't have mattered at all to him.  But this day, this summer, wasn't normal.  She was much different then just an average girl.  He slipped off into a dream, full of bouncing red hair and luscious lips.

            Ginny stared coldly at the door.  Maryanne had run out, quite annoyed with her inability to admit what she believed to be the "truth", even though Ginny never would have done such a thing.  It was preposterous to think that a Weasley, Ginny of all of them, could ever have feelings for Draco Malfoy.

            The only problem was, the more she thought about him and how much she disliked him, the more reasons she found to like him.  The more reasons she found him intriguing, the more reasons she found herself ogling over him.  He was lying mere feet from her and keeping her eyes off him was becoming almost impossible.

            She would never admit that she possibly had feelings for him.  More then the fact that he was THE Draco Malfoy, it was the point that she was Ginny Weasley, the young girl destined to always be "in love" with Harry Potter.  She sighed, knowing full well that the part of her life that involved Harry and following Ron and Hermione was over.  She couldn't bear to be their fan club anymore, and at the moment her life without seeing them wasn't so horrible.  Draco made her happy.

            She grimaced as she looked at him, running a hand up his arm again.  He had changed from Hogwarts.  Being as busy as she was in her 4th year, she hadn't cared to notice, nor did she the year after.  But he wasn't as bossy or nearly as rude and he barely ran with his normal Slytherin crowd if Crabbe and Goyle were disincluded.  She would sometimes find him in the library, studying, or in the Potion's dungeon doing extra work.  She had attempted to ignore it, but this summer's events had made her realize just how much he was…not the Draco Malfoy she had once hated.  As her hand skimmed his arm again, she came to the conclusion as to what was missing.

            The Dark Mark.  The most hated symbol of the rise of Lord Voldemort, the Dark Mark could be given to almost any supporting Dark wizard who wanted it.  Draco had always been on the top of the list of candidates, but now, sitting with his bare arms, she noticed it wasn't there.  She gasped loudly.

            It was if her gasp had caused him to spasm, because he began frantically shaking in the bed, sweating beyond belief and screaming out inaudible murmurs.  His legs were kicking hard.

            "NO LUCIUS LEAVE HER ALONE." He screamed, kicking again, "I WON'T LET YOU TOUCH HER.  I HATE YOU."  He screamed again and thrashed his hand out to the side, connecting with Ginny's face, and she fell to the floor in a loud thump.

            Draco was sitting upright in Ginny's bed, panting slightly, perspiration rolling down the side of his face.  Ginny was on the ground, shaking also, a bright red mark showing just slightly beneath a clumsy hand.

            "Damn." He murmured, moving slightly in the bed to make room for her.  She stood, shaking, and sat next to him, "I didn't mean too."  He whispered, running a thumb along her cheek.

            "I…I know." She choked just slightly, tears running across his thumb, "We all have dreams."  He sighed and let his hand drift back to his side, leaving an awkward moment of silence, "Why were you screaming about your father?"

            "H-H-He had hit my Mum again." Draco started, unsure as to why he was even telling her, "I couldn't stand to see that again." Ginny gasped again, "I guess I am like my father, I hit a girl too."

            He didn't see it coming, the slap to the face that stung so hard as it moved across his right cheek.  She was staring at him angrily, her coffee colored eyes fuming, her red hair making her look like an angered devil, "Don't you ever say that!  You are a better man then your father would ever be."  She screamed.

            "Not true."

            "Yes true, your father would never teach an illiterate girl how to read!"  Ginny yelled and he blushed.

            "I still shouldn't have hit you." He added lamely, not sure what else to say.

            "Don't apologize, it was an accident."  She stared at him, running her finger up his arm for what he could have sworn had been at least the third time in an hour, "Draco, what is it you want to be when you grow up?" She asked tentatively.

            He knew it had been coming.  The way she was obsessed with his arms, the way she stared at him, as if she expected the words _Death Eater_ to stick out to her, "An Auror."

            "Really?"

            "Well…yeah."

            "Why though…when your father is the biggest Death Eater ever?" She asked again.

            "I want to stop people like him from killing innocent people." He stated dumbly.

            "But you always called Hermione and others such names…"

            "Just because I don't want to be my father, doesn't mean I don't know my place."  He started, "I might not want to be a Death Eater, but I'm still a pureblood.  I'm still a Malfoy.  Being different only would mean my death, and I don't want that.  I have nothing to offer anyone if I just do what I think is right.  It's better to keep my desires secret and help the Light side as a spy than truly stand up for what is right."

            "But Draco…" 

            "No Ginny. Sometimes, we have to give up what we want to do for the better good." He sighed.  Looking up at her, staring at him biting her lip, she looked beautiful.  She had listened to him without saying much of anything, without running away.  Not even Goyle and Crabbe, who had probably not even known what he was talking about, had done that, "But not everything."  He stated again before leaning in and brushing his lips just lightly against hers.

            Maybe he startled her at first because she moved away for just a moment, but then her arms were around his neck and she was kissing him hard, bruising his lips.  She wasn't tentative at all as her tongue entered his mouth, pressing hotly against the roof of his mouth and tasting him.  She tasted like mint and lilies, a wonderful combination, and he felt his lips pulling back into a smile mid kiss.  He pulled away and let her fall into his chest, wrapping an arm around her.

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AN: Again, this story isn't going to be that long. I'm going to end it soon, not too soon but soon, just by adding a few more chapters with some Ginny/Draco love and some Ginny/Draco arguments.  It ends with a decision GASP.

Hopefully you like, read and review!


	5. Sunsets and Ballgowns

Author's Note: Contains sexual things…

Disclaimer: I don't own any of this stuff.            

Ginny awoke as a bright beam of sun shone at her, making her skin burn just slightly.  She sighed and stretched, one arm moving towards her bedclothes to remove them, but instead she only encountered a lone arm.  She gasped as her fingers ran over it, making the arm pull against her waist and move her closer to the body lying behind her.  Looking down she let out a loud sigh as she found herself still fully clothed.  She rolled over and dropped her jaw in awe at the body lying next to her.

            Draco Malfoy was lying beside her, his blonde hair falling into his eyes and rising again with every exhale he took.  His arms were drawn tightly around her and he seemed to be…smiling?  Yes, despite the fact that she had only seen him smile once or twice, it was definitely a smug smile.  She allowed her finger to move to his cheek bone, tracing its defining shape, before lingering onto his lips.  His kiss, with its fire and passion, still could be felt in the back of her mouth and she let out a small moan.  His gray eyes popped open and he looked at her intently.

            "Good Morning Ginny." He breathed.

            "Good…Good Morning Draco." She replied, unsure of what to say.  His arms were still coiled around her and his forehead was now resting on hers, his lips just inches from hers.  She smiled and moved forward, unsure what was pulling her closer to him or what magnet was keeping her in the bed alongside him, but she was moving towards his lips.

            "Ginny wait." He spoke, right before she touched them, making her pout just slightly.  He was now sitting up, running a lone hand through his hair and moving towards the edge of the bed.

            "What is it?"

            "Can we call off our lesson for today?  I really…" He started, but then stopped, gazing back at her.  Something was wrong, she could see it, for his eyes were drawn back into his head and his demeanor had sunk.

            "What?"

            "I just need to think." He replied, before running from the room in a large bang.

~

            Ginny sat silently on the wooden swing in the courtyard.  The sun was beginning to set in the sky, the cotton ball clouds just starting to lose their fuzz, and the tree's shade was just starting to cause goose bumps on her skin.  The daffodils and tulips were no longer their bright color and seemed to wilt just slightly, as if projecting Ginny's emotions.  She swung back and forth lamely, her bare feet just slightly skimming the ground, the forest green work dress hiked up to her knees yet again.  Her hair fell lamely around her face and her coffee eyes were filled with sorrow.

            It had been two weeks since their kiss.  Since they had awoken in her bedroom and he had said he needed to think.  Their lessons had continued as usual in the drawing room, for his proficiencies at Charms had improved in the last few weeks.  He had never opened his mouth once, not when she chastised him nor when she congratulated him on a job well done.

            Draco's quietness wasn't what had been irking her.  No it had been two things in particular.  For one, it was the bottomless pit of emotions in her stomach that would never stop churning.  She thought about him constantly, about his blonde white hair and his usual smirk.  She had dreams of him at Hogwarts.  She hated admitting her dreams were not always…usual…for she remembered quite vividly in the middle of the night with sweat dripping down her back and the most unusual amount of warmth seeping from her lower belly.  She imagined him doing things to her that she had never imagined before; his hands touching every part of her body as she moaned his name over and over again.

            Of course, just having irritating and arousing dreams about Draco Malfoy was the least of her problems.  It was the possibility of now, nearing the middle of July that she was falling in love with him.  She hated to admit it, hated to even assume that she could love someone like him.  But she knew the truth; even now in the coming evening in the courtyard she knew how she felt.  It was how she had once felt about Harry that bubbly feeling in the middle of her chest that made her feel like she was riding her broom in a Quidditch match for the first time ever.

            She almost jumped out of her skin as the swing skidded to a halt, causing her head to whip around and a piece of her hair to get stuck in the chain of the swing.  The sneering man from the first day of her job was staring at her oddly, his fingers laced around the swing chain.

            "Young Mr. Malfoy requests your attendance in the main ballroom at 8 Miss." He spoke quickly, "He also requests you wear the gown that is hanging in your armoire.  Goodnight." The man turned quickly and went inside as she finally removed the tendril of stuck hair.  Draco wanted her presence in the ballroom?  She wasn't sure what it meant but she was off the swing in a heartbeat, running for the door.

~

            Ginny sat on her bed, one hand running softly over the piece of satin lying in her hands.  It was the darkest blue she had ever seen, almost black, and hung to the floor.  The bodice hung to her body tightly but soon flowed out to an elegant ball gown that just barely skimmed the floor and spun widely when she twirled about.  The neckline was low, something Ginny wasn't perfectly comfortable with, but it showed off the pearly skin of her upper chest.  A long piece of material hung across her breast line and over her shoulders to her back, accentuating the dress in just the perfect light.  She had fallen in love with it the moment she had taken it out of the armoire, almost squealing for joy as Maryanne had helped her with the laces in the back.  Maryanne had also helped her pin her red hair up in a glorious twist that defined her face.  Ginny smiled in her mirror now as she stood up, twirling just once again.

            She moved to the door and listened intently to her heels as they clicked along the hallway even in the carpet.  The swishing of her dress was comforting and yet mysterious as she found the entrance to the ballroom, the same one she had found her first day of tutoring.  She pushed the elegant door back and allowed her jaw to drop to the floor.

            The floor was shining beautifully in the chandelier's light, accentuating the whole aura of the room.  A small record player was against the only non-mirrored wall.  The room appeared empty as Ginny stepped in, checking the watch on the wall.  7:59. she had been early, she knew that, but she figured that Draco would still be standing waiting for her.  Stepping inside and twirling around just a bit she started to laugh to herself until the record began to play, a light melody that she was sure was an old Irish version of Pachabel's Cannon.  She gracefully moved to it, humming along, her feet stepping in time with the clarinets and flutes in the grand solo.

            She hadn't seen the figure appear in the door, a young boy of not-just-17 was watching her spin around.  His eyes were concentrating on her face as it smiled from the music, his favorite song, adorned in the dress he had picked out especially for her.  Stepping to the record player he stopped the song abruptly.  She was watching him now; he knew it, probably staring at his tailored suit that his father had bought him for fancy occasions.  He had sent his mother out for just the purpose of this ball, and now that he was alone with her he intended to look his best.

            Stepping away as a new song came on he moved towards her and extended his hand, bowing graciously.

            "May I have this dance?"

If there were no words

No way to speak

I would still hear you

If there were no tears

No way to feel inside I'd still feel for you

He put his hand around her waist and held her close as they moved back and forth, swaying to the music.  Her head was on his shoulders and her fingers were playing with the tendrils of hair at the base of his neck.  

And even if the sun refused to shine

Even if romance ran out of rhyme

You would still have my heart

Until the end of time

You're all I need my love, My Valentine.

She looked up at him, into his beautiful gray eyes, and smiled at him.  He smiled back and brought his lips against hers in their second kiss.  It was warm and touching and feather light as he danced with her.

All of my life

I have been waiting for all you'd give to me

You opened my eyes

And showed me how to love unselfishly

I've dreamed of this a thousand times before

In my dreams I couldn't love you more

I would give you my heart

Until the end of time  
You're all I need my love, My Valentine

The kiss finally parted and their dancing embrace grew closer, his head now resting on her shoulder as well.  He sighed into her neck and rubbed her back affectionately, causing her to mew lightly.

            "Damn Ginny." He moaned against her, tightening his grip as best he could without squeezing her to death.

And even if the sun refused to shine

Even if romance ran out of rhyme

You would still have heart until the end of time

Cause all I need is you, My Valentine

You're all I need my love, My Valentine

            Ginny pulled away from him as the song ended, her face flushed.  His hands were raking through his hair and he was smiling sheepishly.  The suit, whose black fabric made him look even more devilishly handsome than usual, was almost twinkling at her from the tears that were welling up in her eyes.  He moved towards her and hugged her affectionately.

            "Ginny what's wrong?"

            "Nothing…just…oh bullocks!"  She growled as she burst into tears, "I didn't want to break down."

            "Ginny?"

            "No one has ever done something for me like that Draco." She panted, running her fingers across the front of his suit, "No one has ever…cared for me like that." She stopped and looked up at him, and for the first time he could have sworn he saw something behind her coffee eyes than just admiration.  Was it…could it be…was it love?  He wasn't sure, he wasn't the type to play with games of the heart, but it really didn't matter anymore.  Somewhere along the line, he had fallen in love with her.

            "Ginny…"

            "What Draco?"

            "Be with me tonight."

~

            How they had arrived back at his room, Ginny wasn't too sure, but his kisses were intoxicating her as he brushed them along her now exposed shoulder blade.  Her hair had been taken down and her dress had been discarded.  Being only stark in her knickers and bra was slightly discomforting until she had heard him mumble _my god_ and pulled her into a heart throbbing kiss.

            His erection had brushed up against her once and it had shocked her, but now she was used to the peculiar hardness against her thigh.  His hand was resting on her left breast and making her heart catch in her throat and before she knew what was happening they were on his bed and he was lying on top of her, his fingers stroking along her nipple and making her moan loudly.  She reached for the top of his suit and attempted to pull it off but her fingers were so jumbly he had to do it for her.  He smiled as he reached down and kissed her again, removing her bra with a simple wrist twist, discarding it with her other clothes.  His fingers were raking over her stomach and breasts, every once in awhile skimming down to that area that she had always kept so confined.

            "Is it okay Gin?" He looked at her as his fingers grabbed the waist band of her knickers, "if I go this far…I don't think…"

            She silenced him with a kiss as her own hands played with the edge of his pants and he allowed them to slide off.  She gasped as his fingers touched her in places no one else had, making her stomach burn and tingle with mixed emotions.  Her own hands were traveling aimlessly; to his hair, his back, his chest, even once or twice tweaking his hard nipples.  He moaned against her and led her hands to his erection and she gasped again, letting her fingers encircle something she had never felt before in her entire life.

            "Draco I…"

            "Like this Ginny, I'll show you."  He led her small hands through the motions until she seemed to understand and could go on her own, his hips bucking against her pumping hands.  He moaned loudly and she smiled as he kissed her just lightly and told her to stop.

            "Was I that bad?" She mumbled.

            "No…not at all…that was bloody amazing." He smirked before settling between her legs.  Moving forward just slightly he entered her and continued to enter her as he smattered kisses across her face as she winced in pain.  It didn't last long, their fussy movements, before he landed on top of her in a sweaty heap.

            "That was wonderful Draco." She hummed into his chest.  Yes, he had to admit, it was wonderful.  She had looked like an angel underneath him, her hair spread about the pillow in a halo like form.  Never before had he felt that alive during sex, and never before had he felt as if he never wanted to move.  She was wrapped in his arms now and drifting off to sleep, her breaths intoxicating him in ways he couldn't even begin to imagine.

            She had fallen asleep; he knew it, as his fingers brushed across her small hairline.  Pressing a kiss to her forehead he snuggled into her sighing just lightly.

            "Damn you Ginny…Damn you for letting me fall in love with you." 

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Authors note 2: Just want to thank all my FANTASTIC REVIEWERS you know who you are…thanks a bunch for reading this story! Its gunna end in what I predict to be 2 chapters, maybe 3, but yes that's it I'm afraid. 

I am so sorry about my lack of updates, as you know I am insanely busy with school and such, but I promise this won't be forgotten!


	6. Love's Bruises and Love's Stories

            Draco sat groggily, his fingertips lightly tapping against his oak desk frame.  The rhythm was slightly soothing, almost exasperating, as he listened in and contemplated.  His room was dark and cold, so cold he could feel each individual hair standing up on his legs and his toes shivering against the wooden floor.  Angrily he slammed his hand against the desk and allowed himself to fall against it in a low whimper.

            Directly across from him, sleeping soundly in an array of forest green bedclothes was Ginny Weasley.  Her red hair could barely be seen as she was so deeply entangled within the blankets but her short breaths every few seconds made his mind constantly draw back to her figure.  He couldn't stop thinking about her, the way she had moaned his name from underneath him only mere hours ago, how vibrant of a person she was.  The sheer thought of her made his entire body shiver in delight.  He knew what he wanted…he knew how he wanted to hold her and love her and kiss her for the rest of his life.  He knew he had never felt like this before, he knew a Malfoy was not supposed to have friends, let alone love anyone.  And maybe that, at four o'clock in the morning, was what was bothering him.

            He could never exactly pinpoint when he had fallen for her.  When his mother had announced her arrival he had only been disgusted.  Back then, she was a Weasley, a meager girl Weasley at that matter.  Back then they were all the same, lousy poor people that shouldn't hold the name of wizard.  But then again, that was where his roots had set him, deep in this moral conflict of right and wrong.  He knew why he had always despised the Weasley's, not only for their lack of money and lack of proper judgment, but also from their association with Potter.  He grimaced thinking of the boy.

            Draco had always been held back by destiny.  His father, supposedly a noble man during his time, was the henchman for the wickedest man to walk the face of the earth, if such a creature could even be considered a "man" by any sorts.  A true Slytherin, his father had despised muggle born children and all those who associated with them.  More over, his father hated The-Boy-Who-Lived because he meant change in years.  Draco of course, was born into the hatred.  His whole life had been spent despising his father but even more so, despising Harry Potter.

            Ginny would never know why Draco hated Harry.  He didn't even think it could be called hate, maybe more along the line of jealousy, for Draco had always wanted more than the life he had been given by his father.  He wanted to be noble and great, a hero to the wizarding world, a boy that could escape the cage of the Dark Lord.  But no, that would never happen.

            Or so Draco had always imagined.  He remembered clearly the first day that Ginny had waltzed into the dining hall when she was hired, sauntering in and curtseying without even recognizing his presence.  He could remember the first time they truly argued and he noticed her temper and spunk, her ability to have a perfect retort for everything he threw at her.  She had been the first person to truly turn him down, to treat him wrongly, and to make him realize his life really wasn't everything he wanted it to be.  Was that why he loved her?  Was it because she made him notice who he was?

            He refused to believe that.  He wanted to believe that he only loved her because she was a challenge, because she wasn't one of the tarts that would eagerly throw themselves at his feet.  He wanted to believe moreover that he felt nothing for her, for a Weasley, for a person at all.  He knew it wasn't true though, as his eyes lingered on her body lying naked in his bed, for he was in love with her and he couldn't do anything about it.  Or…

            "Draco?" Ginny breathed airily from her space in his bed. She was staring at his back, where his bare muscles were rippling in the pale fading moonlight.  He looked more godly than usual, just sitting there with his hands on the desk, staring back at her.  She had dropped the blanket when she had sat up and she knew he was getting more of a show than he had probably reckoned when she had awoken, but it didn't matter.  He had seen most of her right?  He continued to stare at her, his lips tightly pursed, and she echoed again, "Draco?"

            "Yes?" He answered, his voice hitched just slightly.

            "Are you coming back to bed?" She asked, raising her eyebrow.  Her body was still glowing from the earlier moments of the night and she felt herself craving and wanting more of his caresses and touches.  A frown escaped her as he shook his head and moved towards her, cupping her chin in his fingers.

            "Right now, I just need to think Gin.  You understand that?"

            "Why do you need to think?"

            "Because I don't understand…this…I mean…us…well…I don't know."

            "Is there an us Draco?" She asked perceptibly.

            "I…I don't know."

            "Do you want there to be?"  He frowned and looked at her, the pad of his thumb drawing small circles across her cheeks.

            "We don't always get what we want Ginny." He whispered.  She could see the tears stringing against the back of his eyes and he must have noticed for he pulled away, running a hand across his eyes and muttering something that sounded an awful lot like damn.

            "Draco?"

            "Why the hell did you come here Ginny?" He exploded; turning around with an emotion in his eyes she hadn't seen in such a long time; anger, "Everything was fine you know: I didn't really need a teacher. Flitwick probably would have passed me anyway; Father's name still has some sort of meaning in this world.  I was FINE."

            "I know Draco but…"

            "But what?  Why didn't you leave?" He gasped, falling onto the bed next to her.

            "I don't give up on things."

            "You should have given up on me."

            "Draco don't say that."

            "Why not?  I'm not Harry." He breathed, looking at her intently, "I can't give you anything Ginny.  My family would never accept you and I know your family would probably break me to pieces before allowing me to be with you.  I'm not a hero, not even bloody close…"

            "Draco stop, you know I don't think that of you.  They can adjust."

            "No they won't adjust and you know it.  We are all wrong Ginny."

            "But so were Romeo and Juliet!"

            "Romey and who?"

            "Muggle literature."

            "SEE GIN!  We can't even agree on something that simple.  We are horrible for each other."

            She pursed her lips, staring at him.  She had fallen in love with him over the weeks they had been together.  His personality, his looks, his beliefs, everything about him stuck out to her.  She had learned the truth about what he wanted and what type of boy he was.  And now here he was, the first boy she had ever kissed and the first boy she had ever made love too, and he was pushing her away.  Grabbing his hand she looked him in the eye, "Draco, we can make this work.  I…I know we can.  As long as we both want too."

            "I don't know Gin."

            "Do you want too?"

            "Hell Ginny I…"  He stared at her, at how much emotion her eyes were showing and his insides flipped upside down.  No matter what it meant, he couldn't let her get hurt.  He couldn't hurt his own heart.  The best way was to push her away and to keep her far away, "Ginny I can't do this."

            "Do you care about me at all?"

            "If I said yes would you leave?" He asked.

            "No."

            "Then no, I don't care about you."

            "But Draco…"

            "I DON'T CARE GINNY!  I want you to just…I don't know disappear?  Alright, you found a hole in Draco Malfoy, you did, but now that hole is gone.  You were a good lay, a damn good lay but that's it!  Now leave." He screamed, pushing her away from him.  She toppled out of his bed and looked up at him with a fire in her face that he had never seen before and yet at the same time, the most sullen look he had ever seen in her coffee eyes.  Grabbing her things, she wrapped a piece of linen around her body before moving towards the door.

            "I thought you had almost proven me wrong Draco…I really had." She yelled before slamming the door behind her in a wave of absolute fury.

~

            Draco walked down the corridor to the dining hall at a snail's pace with his head hung fretfully low.  He hadn't seen Ginny since the morning when she had stormed away in a fireball of red and freckles.  It wasn't as if he really wanted to see her in the first place, it was hard enough to stand their looking at her pearly naked flesh and be able to push her away.  He trudged into the dining hall where his mother was sitting chatting with a rather dumpy woman he recognized instantly as Ginny's mother Molly Weasley.  She had the same red hair as Ginny except it was cut rather short.  Her eyes, unlike Ginny's, were a piercing ice blue.  Draco's heart melted as he thought about his fiery redhead, who he hadn't even realized he had begun to call his own.

            "Mr. Malfoy." Molly Weasley spoke warily.

            "You can call me Draco." He spoke roughly and extended his hand for a shake.  She seemed to stare at it for a few seconds before grabbing him in a large hug.

            "Draco dear, Molly has come here for a special request..."

            "What is it?"

            "Well Mr. Malf…I mean Draco…you see, July 31st is Harry's birthday and he is coming to the Burrow.  We planned a party for him you see, and we would love it if Ginny could have maybe the next few days off right before hand.  If it doesn't…"

            "It's fine." He blurted, happy to have the girl leaving the house.  He smiled as best he could and turned to leave, unnoticing of the beauty that was standing behind him.

            "Ready to get rid of me so soon Draco?" She purred an annoyance still present in her voice.  She crossed to her mother and enveloped her in a hug before standing beside her, the original composition paper suitcase in hand.

            "Are you going far Weasley?" He muttered.

            "Actually Draco…Mistress Malfoy…I think I have done all I can for Draco.  He has mastered his charms skills profusely and I don't really think my presence here is necessary anymore."

            "But my dear…" Narcissa Malfoy attempted to interrupt.

            "No Mistress.  If you won't let me go on my own I'll quit or force you into firing me, whichever you choose.  I am no longer needed her, I was only temporary anyway." She stared into Draco's eyes as she spoke the last five words, cutting his heart into pieces.  Turning away he could feel tears edging to burst from his eyes.  Why was this happening?  More than the fact that the only person he had ever loved was LEAVING him, why was he letting it have an effect on him?  Why?  He could hear his mother negotiating with Ginny and Molly Weasley's frequent interruptions but he refused to reply.  Ginny's eyes, those huge coffee whirlpools were etched into his mind.  She was really leaving him and going back to Potter and the Golden Trio.

            "Goodbye Draco." He heard her mutter from behind him.  He refused to turn back to face her, even just one last time, and he instead scoffed at her comment.  He could hear her mumble something incoherently and move out of the room, followed by her muggle-loving mother, but he paid no attention.  His wrists were wet from tears and his head was pounding from anger.

            "I'm going to my quarters." He bellowed, turning on his heel.

            "Draco…"

            "What the hell do you want?" He turned, staring at his mother with blinking eyes.

            "Come sit down, let's talk."

            "We never bloody talk…why start now?"

            "I think it's about time we had a very important conversation.  On second thought…go get Maryanne, have her draw up a pitcher of tea.  This could take awhile."

~

            Draco sipped his tea warily, staring at his mother.  Her lips were tightly pursed and her blonde white hair was pulled back fashionably away from her face.  He had never paid much attention to his mother; after all it wasn't until the year before that she was even allowed to speak in the Malfoy household.  She usually followed Lucius Malfoy to a T and that wasn't Draco's way of living.  None-the-less he still cared for her, she was his mother and the only person who had kept him from getting the Dark Mark earlier than 17.

            "Draco, I know about you and the Weasley girl."

            "Know what?" He asked.

            "That you two are in love…the cameras in your quarters do show a lot." She mumbled.

            "What cameras?" He bellowed loudly, slamming his fist on the table.

            "The cameras that have been in your room since you were seven.  How else do you think your father always insured that you were never around when…well…_he_…visited?"  Draco bit his tongue for he had never thought about it.  Cameras would not be the most unusual thing in the Malfoy Manor and something he probably never would have thought to check for.  But cameras…that meant his mother had seen him doing some very unorthodox things with Ginny Weasley just the night before.

            "Mother I should explain…"

            "No explanations needed.  I have been watching the two of you a lot more.  You are taken with her I presume?"

            "I was."

            "What happened my dear?"

            "Nothing _happened_ Mother, she was a good lay."

            "Now Draco, I on any normal occasion would believe that.  Had I never met your father I would probably believe that in a heartbeat.  But I know you, you are your father's boy whether you want to believe it or not and I know the look in your eyes when you watched her just an hour ago.  You love her."

            "No I don't, Malfoy's don't love." He sneered.

            "Draco my dear son, I know you are in love with her.  The question is…was she or is she still in love with you?"

            "No." He stated frankly, unaware that he had just admitted his feelings, "She would have said something.  She wouldn't have let me push her away."

            "Did she let you?"

            "Well…not that frankly…no…but she still left."

            "Did you really want her to leave Draco?"  She questioned again, bringing her teacup to her lips in the biggest smirk he had ever seen.

            "Does it matter what I want Mum?  Has it ever mattered?  No one would ever accept her in this family, no one in hers would accept me, why bother trying?"

            "Sometimes we do things regardless of the odds that aren't in our favor." She spoke breathily, "Draco, have I ever told you of a man by the name of Julius Monterer?"

            "No."

            "He was my first love."

            "What's that got to do with anything?"

            "You see Draco; he was what people would call different.  He was still a wizard, don't mistake me, but he was muggle born.  An intelligent man, reminds me much of that Mrs. Granger from your school.  I fell in love with him after a period of time and he was my first everything.  But you see, we didn't fit together, him being muggle born and all that."

            "I'm not in love with Granger Mum."

            "I didn't suggest you were.  My story goes on to tell you that my parents decided to have me wed to your father and I did so, no matter how much I didn't love him.  I do now, it evolved…but I constantly ask myself what could have been.  Do you want that Draco?"

            "If it will keep Ginny safe." Draco answered truthfully.

            "Go after her Draco." Narcissa spoke quickly, "Don't let yourself become trapped in a world you don't want.  I love you dear, you will always be my son…but being this?  Being a Dark Wizards wife with no word of mind and no life…this is never what I wanted.  I have seen it in Ms. Weasley's eyes, she cares for you equally if not more than you care for her.  Letting her go will only put restraints over your relationship…just go after her.  Don't let the only person to ever break through that tough shell of yours get away." She spoke softly before standing, licking her lips, and moving into the kitchen.  Draco slammed his head on the table, reeling in the pain.

            His mother was right and he knew it.  He needed Ginny, damn he loved her and he wasn't afraid of anyone's wrath; he would be with her.  He pulled his wand out of his robes and conjured a quick note to his mother before moving in a rush to the door, grabbing a cloak along the way.

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AN: In my mind, there is only going to be 1 chapter left.  I promise that.

I also apologize for my lack of concentration and lack of writing updates.  Now that this story is almost complete I will definitely go back and do my other.

Thanks…Read and Review!

(If anyone knows a killer love song, could you leave it for me in the review? Props will be given)


	7. Moonlit Dances and Starship Endings

Ginny Weasley played with a piece of her coppery hair, twirling it about in tight circles.  It truly wasn't all that amusing, just sitting on a wonderful day at the end of July and playing with her own hair, but it hardly amounted to the "fun" that her mother considered denoming the garden.  Harry had gone out earlier and Ginny had watched him perceptibly, amazed at her own ability to not take even the shortest glance at his tightened rear.  Ron and Hermione had barely noticed her arrival to the Burrow just a few short days ago; when they were in her presence they barely kept out of each others arms for a few seconds.

Of course, Ron had no issues with arguing with his mother for hours over Ginny's lack of participation in denoming.  In fact, the argument had only just recently ended and Ginny had finally heard her brother depart, slander in hand, to the backyard.  It wasn't in point that she didn't want to do the work, it would probably take her mind away from the things that had been bothering her anyway, it was more of the fact that her mother refused to let her do anything.  

Mrs. Weasley had recognized Ginny's miserable behavior the moment she walked back into the burrow; her motherly instincts had kicked in since that second and Ginny had spent her time at home concentrating hours on a single lock of hair or working on her homework (which she of course had loads of).  Most things didn't take the pain away from her brain or the pain from her heart.

She hated thinking about Draco as much as she did.  When he wasn't invading her thoughts during the day he was there during the night in her dreams, quieting her with his rough and moist kisses as well as his delicate caresses.  It wasn't his invasion into her mind that bothered her as much as his memory, for when she truly thought long and hard about him she could only remember the cruelty and yet longing in his face when he had told her to leave.  The thought brought tears to her eyes and she lifted the hair twirled finger up to brush them away.  She knew somewhere in the back of her mind that Draco Malfoy was not worth her tears anymore.

"Ginny?" A voice came from behind her and she jumped as Harry laid a small hand on her shoulder, making her limbs tense.  It wasn't a delicate and intricate touch like Draco's had always been…the love was missing…and his hand felt stony cold through her sundress.

"What do you want?" She turned abruptly to face him.  The summer sun had done him well as his face was now a color similar to that of the Native Americans she saw in storybooks as a child.  His eyes were the most verdant green she had ever seen and his arms glistened in a brilliant hue from sweat and work.

"Just wanted to see how you were doing Ginny." He muttered, sitting in a chair across from her, "Is there something wrong with that?"

"No."

"You have been awfully jumpy lately…is something the matter?"  He asked, sounding almost genuinely concerned.  He had leaned forward just slightly, his body now only mere inches from hers, his hand resting on the crevice of the seat just before her knee. She shuddered and gave him a look that clearly said to back away for he did so in just split second.

            "I honestly don't want to talk about it." She spoke softly.  He looked at her again and placed his hand on her knee firmly, his eyes dancing across her face.  His stare was impeccably entrancing as his eyes raked her body and face, sending chills up her spine.  She hadn't even noticed the small circles the pad of his thumb were now drawing across her knee nor that his gaze held more than just worry and care, but what she did notice was the warmth spreading to the bottom of her stomach.  Her eyes had closed on their own accord and she began to hum to herself in attempt to release the frustration growing in the pit of her body.

            How his lips had come to be on hers, she wasn't truly sure, but in a flash they were there, sucking on her bottom lip and begging for something more than she could give them.  Her body tensed and her mind willed her to step away but her mouth seemed to have other plans as it emitted a humming moan.  Her fingers had gone up to tangle in the soft hair at the nape of his neck, so soft and threadbare that she could almost picture its bleach blonde color.

            "Draco." She purred.  The lips she were kissing pulled away abruptly forcing her to open her eyes and realize that it had been her mind playing tricks on her, for she hadn't been kissing anyone but the ebony haired Harry Potter.

            "D-D-Did you just call me D-D-Draco?" He stuttered, stepping away from her.  She looked sheepishly to the floor, finding more to reply to from her sandals than from his face.  She could feel his eyes still lingering on her and then they were gone.  She sighed loudly and fell back into the comfort of the living room chair, taking up a piece of her red hair again and twirling it.

            "Bloody brilliant Ginny," She spoke out loud to no one in particular, "wonderful job you just did, kissing Harry and then calling him Draco."  She groaned and stood up, wondering just slightly if denoming the garden would get her mind of Draco Malfoy.

~

            "Come on Ginny; put some spunk in it I know you can throw harder than that!" Ron Weasley shouted across the garden.  Ginny smirked at him before searching again for one of the small creatures wobbling around on legs far too small for their bodies.  Upon finding one she picked it up by its ears, staying clear of its mouth, and began to circle it over her head.  Faster and faster she span until she let go and the scraggily little thing flew clear over the fence that marked the Burrow's property.  She smiled to herself and looked back at Ron, whose expression of happiness could still be seen through the heaping amount of soot and grime on his normally clean face.

            "I'm done for today!" She shouted back, plopping down into the sultry earth and soil beneath her.  Lying back and fanning out her sundress she felt much cooler and much more relaxed.  The sun was hot and unrelentless as it beat down on her furiously.  If she didn't know better she could say that a million more freckles than usual were popping up all around her exposed skin, not as if that was a problem.  Draco had always loved her healthy freckle smattered skin.

            She cursed beneath her breath and mentally kicked herself for thinking of him again.  It was pointless in her mind, considering the nature of which he had pushed her away.  Surely he didn't care, at least not as much as she thought he had, for otherwise he would be just as in love with her as she was with him.  That amount of love could never keep two people apart.

            The only thing she wanted more at that moment, sitting outside under the blistering sun, than to actually have him back in her arms was to disagree with what he had said.  She hated to admit it, hated to feel it inside her, but she knew it was true…their families never could get along.  Ron's temper was worse than hers when lit up and he would never allow them to date let alone see each other.  On the way home from Malfoy Manor she had made her mother promise to not bring up her whereabouts to anyone at all when she returned.  Ginny had hoped the summer's doings would slip away unnoticed by Ron, Harry, and Hermione.  It would be difficult to explain that she had stayed in the Manor at all when she was fully capable of coming home, let alone explain that during the duration of her stay she had fallen in love with and slept with their arch nemesis.

            A hand on her shoulder drove her from her reverie and invaded her thoughts more as Hermione sat down beside her.  It seemed as if she had finally tamed her bushy auburn hair which was now pulled back off against her face and she was wearing a cute sundress of cornflower yellow.  Her legs were tanned from obvious outdoor use and her eyes, which her darker than bitter chocolate, were staring at Ginny intensely.

            "Is something bothering you Ginny?" She asked cautiously.

            "No…did Harry tell you that?"

            "No, I haven't seen Harry yet today.  You just have been acting rather peculiar since you returned from…where you had gone."

            "Funny you noticed."  Ginny spat rather irritably, curling her legs up to her chin.

            "Ginny…" Hermione started, looking at her again and running a hand through her long tresses, "Does the relationship Ron and I have bother you?"  Ginny looked back at the older girl, who was now staring at the ground, and let her jaw drop.  It hadn't come to Ginny's mind that Hermione might think she disliked her relationship.  True, Ginny sometimes felt left out, but that was just from nerves and other silly childish things.  She loved the fact that Ron was happy and that moreover Hermione was happy.  She looked up to both of them, Hermione almost as a sister, and couldn't think about being happier. Ginny could remember feeling quite differently at the beginning of the summer, but now…after all the events that had gone on…her once uneasy stomach had settled.

            "Of course not why would you think that?"

            "You just seem to distance yourself whenever you see us together.  I don't want to cause any problems you know." Hermione replied sheepishly.

            "Don't worry Hermione, you aren't." Ginny told her enthusiastically, laying a loving hand on hers in an almost sister-like gesture.

            "Well…if Ron and I aren't bothering you…and if Harry isn't bothering you (Hermione gave her a knowing smirk that seemed to say that she knew of Ginny's recovery from her crush) what _is_ bothering you?"

            "I…I can't tell you Hermione."

            "I know you were working with Draco this summer." She started, staring off into space, "A woman at work mentioned that the Malfoy's had hired a tutor for their son in Charms works and was surprised I wasn't asked.  I just put two and two together you know."

            "Oh." Was all Ginny could reply, looking down at her sandals again.  They were quite intricate actually, much better than looking Hermione in the face at the moment.  She knew her eyes could probably reveal every emotion strung together, "Don't tell Ron please Hermione…if he knew…"

            "If he knew..?"

            "Things…just things Hermione."  Ginny grumbled, standing up, "This really isn't open for discussion."

            "I can see it in your eyes and hear it in your voice." The older girl whispered.

            "See what?"

            "You care about him…Draco I mean." She whispered again, even quieter.

            "Do not."

            "Do too…I see it every time I look at you.  Hell Ginny, I know what it looks like, it was the same look I had every time I looked in the mirror before Ron and I got together.  Just admit it to yourself."  Ginny sighed and plopped back down again, her eyes feeling ready to burst from pent up tears and failing dreams.

            "I can't Hermione…you know how people wouldn't accept us!" She sobbed uncontrollably, unsure what was coming over her to allow herself to be so open.

            "I'd accept you.  Harry would accept you.  Ron…well he would eventually.  You can't just make your decisions off those of others." She murmured.  Ginny smiled appreciatively through hazy eyes and settled into a sisterly hug as she went on for hours, telling Hermione all about her adventures of the heart.

~

            Ginny sat silently on a lawn chair that had been placed outside.  A wonderful banner reading HAPPY BIRTHDAY HARRY flew overhead in the slightly July wind.  An area had been cleared for dancing and music seemed to be seeping out from every corner of the air.  Hermione and Ron were tightly together as were her father and mother.  Fred and George had come along for the celebration, of course not arriving without a gag that made the banner read "Happy Birthday Harry and probably the conceivement of Hermione and Ron's children" for more than two hours.  Hermione's face had only recently lost its purplish tinge and the twins, who had brought along their girlfriends, had now retired to their old rooms for some "remembrances".

            Harry was sitting alone on the other side of the yard, dressed very nicely in dress shorts and a nice tank top.  Ginny had worn the only black sundress she owned with her hair pinned up adequately for her tastes.  She could feel Harry's eyes looking at her forlornly.  It wasn't as if she minded much, it made her tingle just slightly to know a member of the opposite sex was indeed taking notice to her, but Harry's all to late advances had fallen on deaf ears.  She barely noticed the slow song that had come on nor Harry's steps across to her but soon he was standing over an extending his hand, muttering something about a dance with the finest lady of the hour.

            "Yes." She mumbled, "But only for your birthday."

            They spun graciously around the dance floor regardless of the few moments where Harry took painful blows to his feet from Ginny's mistakes.  She wasn't paying much attention, for she had sworn she had seen a broomstick fly across the full moon's countenance.  Harry must have noticed her lack of attention as well for he pulled her close, engulfing her in his pungent aroma.

            The song came to a slow moving halt around her and she smiled graciously up at Harry who only continued to look at her oddly.

            "I never realized how beautiful you are Ginny." He whispered, moving a stray piece of coppery red hair from her eyes.  Again, she thought she saw something move in the distance, but his melodramatic voice brought her back to earth as she heard him mention the word love and kiss her just ever so gently, "Aren't you going to say something?"

            "I didn't hear you." She answered honestly.  Something in the underbrush had caught her attention again as another song played across the air.  She took up dancing with Harry again, trying to drone out his words, for she wasn't too sure that she actually wanted to hear them.  It wasn't until the music stopped suddenly that she looked up into the cool gray blue eyes that she had fallen in love with.

            "Draco." She whispered to no one as she realized he was standing next to her.  His blonde hair was flying in every direction from the wind and his eyes were transfixed on her face.  He was wearing a slightly tattered robe and the same clothes she had seen him in when she had left the Manor.  Remembering the moment she scowled and looked back at Harry, whose hands were still at her side.  She let them fall and looked at Draco, her arms crossing over her chest, "Why are you here?"

            "Just dance with me please."  He coaxed before grabbing her and pulling her too him.  She begged her feet to stop, to stop walking her down that road to hurt and pain, but they moved along with his own in perfect synchronization.

 _I am thinking of you   
In my sleepless solitude tonight   
If it's wrong to love you   
Then my heart just won't let me right   
Cause I've drowned in you   
And I won't pull through   
Without you by my side _

_I'd give my all to have   
Just one more night with you   
I'd risk my life to feel   
Your body next to mine   
Cause I can't go on   
Living in the memory of our song   
I'd give my all for your love tonight _

_Baby can you feel me   
Imagining I'm looking in your eyes   
I can see you clearly   
Vividly emblazoned in my mind   
And yet you're so far   
Like a distant star   
I'm wishing on tonight _

_I'd give my all to have   
Just one more night with you   
I'd risk my life to feel   
Your body next to mine   
Cause I can't go on   
Living in the memory of our song   
I'd give my all for your love tonight _

_I'd give my all to have   
Just one more night with you   
I'd risk my life to feel   
Your body next to mine   
Cause I can't go on   
Living in the memory of our song   
I'd give my all for your love tonight   
Give my all for your love   
Tonight_

            As the song blissfully ended Ginny pulled out of Draco's arms just enough to look into his eyes.  He was staring intently at her and she pulled him away from the group, to a small desolate portion of the backyard.  He was still staring at her, his fingers still locked around her waist.

            "Why did you come?" She asked hoarsely.

            "Why do you think I came back?" He asked just as hoarsely, his eyes never looking directly into hers.  She cupped his chin and pulled his face up, locking coffee and gray blue together.

            "Tell me."

            "Ginny…Ginny…"  He captured her lips in the swiftest kiss imaginable.  Her legs gave out and she sunk into him, into his embrace and into his love.  He moved over her mouth like it was the last piece of candy a child would ever get and he smothered her with a passion she had never seen him admit before.  As he pulled away, his cheeks flaming from the loss of oxygen, he looked deeply into her eyes, "I love you."

            She smiled up at him, "I love you too Draco."

            "I know things won't be perfect at first…but Ginny I can't spend the rest of my life wondering if I let the best girl in the world get away from me.  I love everything about you from that dabbing of freckles on your nose to that temper of yours.  I can't live without you and I have been dreaming and praying that you would take me back."  He looked longingly at her.  She soundlessly moved and kissed him, a kiss that expressed her very answer without words and they both fell back onto the dewy grass, expressing their love together underneath the pearly stars and bright full moon.

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WOW its done. Draco came back, all is good…they are together…YAY.

The song above was one by Maria Carey, and in case you were wondering about the one from the previous chapter (number five I believe) it was by Martina McBride.

Now that this is over I PROMISE to go and finish up my other story _Rings. _Hopefully you enjoyed this…review and what not…if I get enough reviews (hopefully around 30?) I might make a small addend to the conclusion of this to get a glimpse in the life of Ginny and Draco later on.


	8. The Trouble with Destiny

AN: Here it is…a small little sequel for all of you! I hope you like it, its just showing what has happened to Ginny and Draco since I ended the story. It's sappy.

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            "Hermione oh it is so good to see you!" The coppery haired girl screamed, encircling the older woman in a tight hug.  Hermione had grown a few inches, or so it seemed, and her long auburn hair had been cut short and spiky.  Ron had told her that it had been for Auror work, but she was sure it was also to Hermione's liking.

            "Ginny it is great to see you too!  It seems like it has been forever.  How was Paris?" Hermione gushed, staring at Ginny Weasley admiringly.  Her long copper hair was twisted up elegantly and her skin was a darling tan color, her freckles even brighter than usual.  Her deep coffee eyes were glittering and the diamond ring that hung on her left ring finger sparkled in the sun.

            "Oh it was beautiful.  I couldn't imagine anything better.  Draco showed me the world." Ginny laughed as she spun in a circle and collapsed in the grass.  Hermione sat beside her and sighed as she took a long sip from a bottle of lemonade.  Ginny on the other hand, was staring up into the clouds, amazed at how things had turned out.  Hermione was now her sister-in-law, Ron had finally gotten around to proposing the month before and they had married almost instantly.  They had both become Unspeakables not long after, and Hermione had constantly been busy there after.  She had missed Harry's wedding, Ginny remembered thoughtfully, and she had taken Hermione's place as a bridesmaid.  Harry's wife, a girl named Melinda, was very pretty with long blonde hair and green eyes, just like Harry's.  They had married just a few weeks ago in Paris, and although everyone else had come home immediately, Draco and Ginny had decided to stay behind and have a second honeymoon.

            Ginny sighed loudly again as she thought of Draco, her husband of almost two years and the father of her youngest child Marcy.  Draco had originally never thought of himself as a father, Ginny remembered, but he had proved to be an excellent one and was looking forward to the birth of their second child, which was due in late March.  Hermione was bubbly and talkative next to Ginny but she had closed her ears to the older woman, much more content on looking at the sky and running her fingers across her belly.

            She had been astonished at the way her family, and even Harry, handled the knowledge of her and Draco's relationships.  The twins had only threatened to kill him once and Ron had actually been civil, which she was sure was the doing of Hermione.  Harry, who had only looked longingly at Ginny the night when Draco showed up to the Burrow, later accepted him as Harry moved on.  Both men now played Quidditch together for the Chudley Cannons, much to Ron's approval, and were as close as possible.  Melinda, who was pregnant, was considering naming Ginny and Draco godparents to their child.  Even Ron had supported the idea, with him constantly being away on business and his life always in danger.

            As Ginny sat and Hermione finally stopped talking, Draco Malfoy apparated onto the park grounds.  Ginny smiled at him as he sat next to her and kissed her gently, wrapping his arms around her growing belly. Hermione sent him a knowing look and apparated away, leaving the two lovers alone.

            "Hello dear." Ginny kissed him, grabbing his hand with hers, "Where is Marcy?"

            "At home with your mother.  I took her to see mum's grave." He replied shortly, burying his face in her shoulder.  Narcissa Malfoy had died only a few short months after Ginny's graduation from Hogwarts and Draco had insisted upon Marcy always being able to see her grandmother's grave.  Something about that shocked Ginny just slightly, for it wasn't like Draco to have much affection for his parents, "How's work?" He asked cautiously.

            "Same old." She replied earnestly, looking out into the sky.  She had become the secretary of the Order not long after her graduation.  With Hermione and Ron as Unspeakables and Draco and Harry off doing Quidditch things, she hadn't much of a choice.  Her mother and father had wanted her to stay away from the Order business but she refused.  She wanted to play her part.

            "That's good.  Might we go home dear?  We have some things to talk about." He replied, and they both apparated back to the Burrow.

~

            Ginny sat on the edge of their bed, looking at Draco sternly.  His blonde hair was hanging in his eyes and he was attempting to not look her in the eye but she refused to give him the chance.

            "Draco…"

            "Ginny I know what your thinking.  I know how hard this must be for you.  But they need me…they need Harry too.  They say our flying ability will help them immensely."

            "But Hermione and Ron aren't going.  They are Aurors!"  She yelled angrily.  It wasn't fair, after all, Harry and Draco were just Quidditch players.  It wasn't fair for Dumbledore, who was well over 200 years old, to call on them now, when they were both settling down with families.  She hadn't heard of the attacks in Romania, the Order wasn't involved with attacks that didn't involve the London Ministry, but she still couldn't believe that Dumbledore would need Harry and Draco.

            "Ginny listen to me." Draco breathed against her neck, stepping towards her.  He had enveloped her in a hug and was now leaning against her, small trickles of tears coming down his eyes, "I love you.  I love Marcy.  I love the baby you are going to have.  But this…this is something I have to do.  I can't just sit here and watch people die at my father's hands." He sighed.  She had known of Lucius Malfoy's supporters in Romania, of their rowdy protests and such, but she hadn't known that they had attacked anyone…especially not English peace delegates, "I'll come back."

            "That's what everyone says." She sighed into him, "And its never true."

            "I won't leave you.  I promise that.  It might take days, weeks, months, even years, but I will come back." He kissed her lightly before grabbing a cloak.

            "I love you Draco Malfoy." She sighed.

            "I love you too Ginny Malfoy." He replied as he hurried out of the bedroom door in a whirlwind of black.  Ginny began to cry into a pillow, her fingertips running along her pregnant belly.  She knew it was a suicide mission.  She had heard of them, reading history books and such, knowing full well that missions such as this were never great tasks.  She was sure Harry was home now, comforting Melinda, telling her that he would return to her too.  Or, he could stay behind.  It wasn't Harry's destiny to defeat Lucius Malfoy.  His destiny had come and gone.  This…this was Draco's, and she knew she couldn't stop him.

            A small girl walked into the room on pudgy little legs.  She had strawberry blonde hair that was sticking up in odd angles and her eyes were the clearest blue anyone had ever seen.  She had a toothy grin and a large smattering of freckles on her pale skin.  She grunted a tiny bit until Ginny bent over to pick her up, snuggling her into her belly.

            "Baby." The little girl cooed.

            "That's right Marcy, its going to be a baby."

            "Da-da!" The girl yelped pointing out the window.  It was raining now, and Ginny could see the outline of a man in a black cloak with handsome blonde hair moving down the street.  She waved the little girls hand at the man and she saw him look up one last time at the window before disappearing into the sky.  Ginny felt a tear slip down her cheek as she ruffled the little girl's hair just slightly, "Da-da!" The girl cried again, a pitch in her voice indicating tears to come.

            "He'll be back."  Ginny coaxed her, "One day he'll be back."

            They fell asleep together, mother and daughter, to the humming of the rain and the loneliness of destinies.

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AN: That's it!  This story is done, I'm not telling you what was "Meant" to happen or anything.  You got a sneak window into the lives of Draco, Ginny, Ron, Hermione, Harry, and everyone else after the ending to my story.  That was it.  You learned about pregnancies, marriages, and even destinies.  And now it is over. Tear.

Read some of my other things, even though most of them don't revolve at all around Draco and Ginny, it could become a new habit of mine.

Read and Review!

Thanks to all my reviewers up to the point of writing this….**Madison27, LittleSquirt21, TruAngel777, Midnight Mistress, Dancing Girl, Andysleeps, Nerwen Faelvirin, Drookit Duck, Alexia, HPfan00, imogenhm, AmericaSweetie, Nichole Malfoy, Sark Lover, Carly Sue, Dragon Huntress, Darcy16, AznDreamer802, and a mysterious "Me".**


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